12:00am | In the new book Thrive by author Dan Buettner, he reports: “In Mexico the wealthiest ten percent have more than twenty-five times the income of the poorest 10 percent.” Compare this same statistic to the current economic landscape of U.S., where the top ten percent make only ten times more than those of the bottom ten percent. You think we have it bad? Mexico has it worse. 

So how is it that even despite the circumstances, Mexico is rated as a world leader in happiness backed by public opinion surveys that measure opinion, attitudes, and behaviors? In other words, how do the poor in Mexico cope with such hard living? Well, the poorest of the poor don’t laugh all the way to the bank, but they do laugh a lot.

As I thought deeply about Buettner’s findings, I looked out of my office window and the clouds of Long Beach are very dark. I’m thinking about the divorce I’m going through. Business has been better. Where’s the scotch?

No matter how much I wanted to feel sorry for myself, I couldn’t help but laugh. Why? For one, it’s a scientific fact that laughter can reduce stress hormones in the body, elevate mood, and force you to relax. Secondly, because Dave Chappelle always saves me. “How bout you and your friends, versus me and the revolution.” The previous was a line from one of my most cherished episodes from the Chappelle Show, where Dave played a very humorous portrayal of the musical artist Prince.

I don’t think we can place value totally on Dave Chappelle, even though the guy has made me laugh more than anybody ever, as much as we can on a sense of humor in general. We are never too miserable to generate laughter. 

The main point is that one shouldn’t focus on an isolated joke. It’s more so about your chosen perspective on circumstances. It is the ability to curb the emotions you experience from potential or surreal pain into ones that make you feel better about what’s going on in your life. Meaning the next time your bank account is overdrawn by $500, and you have bills pressing, think of how many FREE food programs you can qualify for before you get back on your feet.

Honestly, who would you care to spend more time with? Would you hang with a person who notices an overcharge and tells the waiter that they’re a waste of life? Or would you hang with the type who notices an overcharge, walks to the kitchen and starts washing dishes on their own, only to stop scrubbing when they have to explain to the manager that they can’t pay because of the error?

Please feel free to share some stories and insight how you make the worst circumstance “better” through humor.